Not a lot of large users of petroleum refined products that easily switch to Natural Gas outside of the transportation industry.
click to enlarge and see notes
Posted on 09/01/2012 6:38:40 AM PDT by Hojczyk
On Aug. 29 the biggest proponent of the NAT GAS Act, Mr. T. Boone Pickens, decided that some battles simply aren’t worth fighting any more.
T. Boone Pickens said natural gas vehicles can survive just fine without Congress approving his so-called Pickens Plan.
“It’s going to happen, and you don’t have to have Washington do it, thank God,” Pickens said at Wednesday’s energy luncheon hosted by POLITICO…
And Pickens strongly suggested that he doesn’t have any plans to try to push his plan anymore in the nation’s Capital.
“I will not go back to Washington again unless it’s for a social event,” he said.
He also took a moment to toss in a comment on his previous wind energy proposal.
The billionaire and former oil baron also lamented that while his plan initially promoted wind energy, that hasn’t worked out so well.
“I’ve lost my ass” to wind-energy investments, he conceded.
The American Conservative Union was popping champagne over this while the rest of us were whooping it up in Tampa.
American Conservative Union (ACU) today issued the following statement from ACU Chairman Al Cardenas:
“We are thrilled to hear that T. Boone Pickens has thrown in the towel on the NAT GAS Act. It was a classic example of the federal government attempting to pick winners and losers within an industry and that’s why the ACU fought so hard against this misguided policy. ACU will continue to monitor this legislation and will act swiftly to make sure that the NAT GAS Act does not go anywhere”
Many of the strongest supporters of natural gas exploration, including yours truly, have lined up against the NAT GAS Act. This doesn’t mean in any way shape or form that we oppose the exploration, development and use of natural gas. It’s a great, abundant energy source with a ton of potential for America.
But as always, government subsidies are not the answer to whatever problem some members of Congress think they’re trying to fix. This form of energy will succeed if it’s economical and competitive in the market. (And it certainly looks like it is.) We don’t need Uncle Sam’s thumb on the scale. Let’s hope this represents the closing chapter of this story.
Being one who is definately pro-NG, simply because it will be the surest and easiest fuel we can use for transportation fuel that will make oil imports a thing of the past, I did not go along with T-Boone.
He may be right on NG and a big player in NG, but he saw the nobama libs as a path to being a really big dog, the NG Czar.
I doubt he has “learned your lesson that Washington ain’t your investment partner”. He is now seeing the handwriting on the wall that nobama is a goner and is repositioning to the right. I don’t think its anything to do with his wanting to make more money, he’s an old dude with lots of money, its he personal adulation he’s seeking.
I've never had the slightest problem with ethanol containing fuel, and I tend to drive my cars 'til the wheels fall off. Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Acura Integra (Honda again), and Ford Ranger (which I think is still made by Mazda) are our latest ones. I put 200K on the Ranger, 175K on the Acura, and my wife's Toyota is getting up to 100K pretty quickly (she has a rather long commute). My Civic is pretty new and my commute is rather short, so not many miles on that yet.
I’m with you. Would really like to hear some details of a 4 hour conversion.
I haven't either, and we've had E10 fuel in Indiana since the late 1980s. The only thing I can think of is that we get a better grade of alky here in Indiana, it's all grown and processed locally.
At the end of 2011 the subsidy for domestic ethanol expired as did the tariff on imported ethanol. Ethanol plants in Indiana are closing up faster than K-marts in the 1990s. I suspect imported Brazilian sugar cane ethanol will be an increasing factor.
No, nothing to do with ethanol.
“a higher than normal level of polymeric residue”
Maybe FReeper petro expert Thackney can explain this.
2005 Honda Accord, 2009 Honda Accord, 2010 Ford F-150. ALL had the same codes, an O2 sensor in the exhaust chain leading some to believe the catalytic convertor is going bad.
If you google 02 sensors and ethanol, you’d be likely to run across a term “wide-band” 02 Sensor and ethanol’s effects on it....
You won’t find much else because the ethanol industry doesn’t like publicity about ethanol destroying seals, gaskets, O rings, fuel lines, and sensor, etc.....
I finally quit using QTrip because a mech engineer friend told me they’ve been caught using much more ethanol in their gas than they report (up to 10% is their limit).....
I found that using brands of gas that aren’t discount like Q and Racetrak, my sensor trips are not near as frequent....
Three cars/trucks - same problems in 5 years....that’s not chance...
It's just not great for vehicles. If all the items listed above (and many more) are switched over to NG, there would be barrels of oil available for gasoline and diesel, driving prices down.
LNG vehicles have far less engine power.
They require their own fueling stations.
They require large storage vessels (remember you still have a gasoline tank also)
They have limited range, more energy per unit with gasoline.
WE DON'T NEED THEM. Switch OTHER oil users to NG and there would be a glut (remember we have huge oil reserves as well, pun intended) of oil for vehicles.
Use our energy reserves WISELY. In a place where wind blows 24/7, put up windmills, but we don't want one on the top of The Statue of Liberty (or many other places).
ENERGY INDEPENDENCE is critical.
I remember waiting in gas lines. I remember having to stay home because it was the wrong odd/even day.
Do the Muslim Islamists love us more NOW? Are they in control of or have influence over fewer countries NOW?
I'd rather pay $4 a gallon for AMERICAN oil. While we do not get a majority of our energy from the Middle East, WHY DO WE GET ANY? WHY ARE WE SENDING THEM BILLIONS OF OUR DOLLARS?
Romney is right. We can be energy independent in a few years, LET'S GET STARTED!
I have friends who have ranches near Pearsall and San Angelo who use nat-gas on their trucks.
BTTT
Not a lot of large users of petroleum refined products that easily switch to Natural Gas outside of the transportation industry.
click to enlarge and see notes
The money stays with us. He also had to pay for research, surveys and for people to do all the paperwork involved. Yeah, he lost some money there.
By the way, did you know that windmills kill more than birds? They wipe out bats too. The bats can miss the blades easily, but the turbulence crushes their lungs and snuff them out. Bats are important due to the large numbers of insects (like mosquitoes) they eat.
We use to see nig rigs hauling the enormous blades on their flatbeds on I-20 heading West through DFW. Haven't see one in more than a year. Good riddance.
Fantasy: Thorium powered (for the heat) gas to liquids process that uses NG and coal (as feed stock) in a Fisher-Tropsch process to produce liquid fuels.
I’ve seen him on Cavuto several times and he does not come off as a fool. He is a pretty shrewd businessman.
First, he doesn’t like to have money laying around. He likes to put it to work. He likes to try to make it grow.
Second, he is an oil man. He likes to use the knowledge he has to guide his investments. Third, he is a Texan. He sees in Texas properties others might not see from the ivory towers of Wall Street.
He sees opportunity by going with the current political flow. He sees opportunity by directing the flow. That is the American way.
He looks to the future 5 or perhaps 25 years rather than 90 days. He is old and would like to direct the flow of his gas investments to a more immediate payoff to be able to not only see it but to have the satisfaction.
I really enjoy hearing him go on. Cavuto gets him started and lets him go. He is sharp and answers the devil’s advocate queries with disdainful relish.
He is, however, a certified windmill nut.
FYI...T Boone is not a Texan. He’s an Okie.
Hmmmm.....my Civic is a 2009. What symptoms did you have?? I wonder if this is a sensor supplier problem/bad batch. It can't be a generic ethanol problem, because too many other cars have/do run just fine with "gasohol".
My Civic has one "glitch".....when cold, it tends to "stutter" somewhat during somewhat rapid acceleration (not "floorboarding"....just "running up through the gears"...rpm might hit 5000 (8000 redline)). As long as I keep it to 3000 rpm max until it fully warms up, it is just fine. I have attributed it to the fact that the Civic is an SI and requires premium gas (and yes, I bought it for my second "teen-age hood"). Six-speed tranny and all the "bells and whistles". I still haven't figured out all the stuff the sound system can do. It's better than the one in my house!
http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000083113
Rick Santelli of CNBC is part of the conversion.
There are plenty of people doing this.
A man converts his Lexus to Nat Gas for $1000
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYP2ZRwq9EE
The downside is a bigger tank, but the comment that the car has no power is not real. Plenty of people are already doing this.
Natural gas is already in the home. People have small compressors that do 1 gallon per hour, which takes about 8 hours to fill the tank. The government does not allow compressed natural gas stored in the home - this makes no sense since they allow a 3600 PSI tank to be in your car in your garage. If they allowed you to fill a tank in your home, you could migrate the gas to your car in minutes.
There are over 1000 natural gas stations in the US and more and more are being built.
Natural gas does not have to be refined, it is cleaner than gasoline. The downside is energy density but the savings in cost is huge.
Taxis, buses, garbage trucks, fleets are all converting by building their own gas stations. Compression is expensive but still cheaper than gasoline.
GO to CNGNOW - a website dedicate to Compressed natural gas and they were at the Republican Convention as well.
http://www.cngnow.com/Pages/information.aspx
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